Getting Started
Working on a research or creativity project with a faculty member is an opportunity for you to go beyond learning about a discipline and become actively involved in creating knowledge and new meaning within the discipline. You get to do it instead of just learning about it. You will learn things you don’t learn in a classroom.
1. Pick a Topic
You may develop your own idea for a project based on class activities such as reading, researching for class assignments, or discussing topics in-class. A faculty member whose class you take may observe that you have the potential to work independently, and invite you to participate in a project. Talk to fellow students who are doing research and ask the collaborating professor if you may join the project. Look and listen for announcements from faculty members seeking students on bulletin boards, in classes, at seminars, or just through the “grapevine.”
2. Find a Mentor
Identify faculty who have similar interests and meet with them to discuss the possibility of engaging in a research project under their guidance. Outline your project in detail with the help of your faculty mentor.
3. Write a Grant Proposal
All full-time (12 or more credits) and part-time (1-11 credits) students of UW-L are eligible to apply for an undergraduate research grant. Competitions are held each fall and spring, and you can apply for either a domestic or international project. Proposals are reviewed and evaluated by the Undergraduate Research Committee, which then determines which proposals are funded and at what amounts.
4. Present and Publish Your Work
Students who receive undergraduate research grants are required to present their findings and outcomes at the annual UW-L Celebration of Student Research & Creativity in poster, oral, or artistic format. Throughout the spring there are also opportunities for students to present locally, regionally, and/or nationally.
Grant recipients are also required to submit a final report to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs via Qualtrics. This electronic reporting form will go live in the near future and a notice will be sent to students.